TRICUSO will build a strong collaboration between the RIs and GO-SHIP to contribute toward a Bio-GO-SHIP strategy that demonstrates how systematic, whole-ocean observations, key to the understanding of ocean carbon cycling, can be supported in the current observation system.

Ocean biological processes play a critical role in carbon uptake and sequestration in the ocean depths and in driving the flux of CO₂ across the air-sea interface. However, we have no global scale network addressing the need to obtain the internally consistent long term datasets of microbial diversity and function required to understand and model this process. Several international initiatives are emerging to address this issue, operating in Japan, the US and Australia.

TRICUSO will develop an implementation plan on how our RI partners can best engage with these efforts and create European leadership in this area through an “ocean carbon pump network”. In addition, we will undertake a demonstration mission to the Southern Ocean alongside the pCO₂ observations made elsewhere in the project.

For more insights, see the slides by Sophie Clayton (NOC/WP6) presented at the TRICUSO kick off meeting.